Locker suggestion for county court visitors shot down

Purses and cellular telephones must stay in the car when people visit Lenawee County’s judicial building.

A suggestion was shot down in the last week for installing lockers to hold items banned at the security check station in the lobby of the courts building.

“We’re just flat not going to do it,” Sheriff Jack Welsh told county commissioners on Oct. 7. “There’s too many issues as far as I’m concerned.”

Prices for installing lockers at the Rex B Martin Judicial Building were presented to the physical resources committee. Chairman Cletus Smith, R-Madison Twp., asked for quotes last month in response to a citizen’s request to provide lockers for items visitors are not allowed to bring into the courts building.

The sheriff’s department is responsible for court security and will decide whether to allow lockers, said Welsh, not the physical resources committee.

Lt. James Craig, who is in charge of court security, said lockers could be used to plant explosives or cause other harm. Security officers at the building would be asked to handle problems with the lockers and complaints if too few are available, he said.

“It seems to create more issues than it solves,” Craig said.

He suggested more signs in the parking lot to inform visitors that purses, electronics and weapons are not allowed in the building.

“I agree with you, it is a security issue,” Smith said. “It was brought up by the public. They deserve to have an explanation.”

Although lockers may not be the solution, there is still a problem, Smith said. Security officers recently counted as many as 67 people in one day being turned away to take purses and other items back to their cars.

“I feel for the 75-year-old woman who has never been in the building before, and she has to go back out to her car,” Smith said.

It is a problem for people with disabilities, said commissioner Terry Collins, R-Adrian. But the same security restrictions exist at other courthouses in the state, he said.

County administrator Martin Marshall said his daughter-in-law had to carry her purse back to her car when she went to a football game at Michigan Stadium last month.

“Wherever you go — prisons, courthouses, airports — people are going to be inconvenienced for safety,” Welsh said.